The accountant job description involves managing, preparing, evaluating, and keeping a record of a company’s financial record.
They also offer financial advice to individuals and companies as a whole.
In small firms, one accountant may handle all areas of accounting.
But in bigger firms, an accountant may be employed based on his specialization.
Some of these areas include;
- Forensic accountancy
- Taxation
- Audit
- Management consultancy
- Recovery
- Corporate finance
Accountants work more in an office at a regular working time of 8-9 hours.
The accountant job description is quite straightforward and can be understood easily.
Since you are reading this article, you may be considering a career path in accounting.
But, have you asked yourself, ‘is accounting the right job for me?’
Is accounting the right profession for you?
There are various reasons why you may have chosen accounting above all other career paths.
This is something you may be doing your whole life. Will you really find satisfaction in it?. Because forever is too long to be unhappy.
Here are some questions to give honest answers to before starting up a career in accounting.
- Do I work well with figures?
- Am I interested in business?
- What level of attention do I give to details?
- Do I think critically?
- Can I properly communicate the practical and theoretical aspect of accounting to my employer?
- Am I a problem solver?,how well do I meet up with deadlines.
- Can I work under pressure?
What do accountants do?
As an accountant you will be employed to manage a company’s financial record.
An accountant holds one of the very crucial positions in an organization because poor financial management can crumble a firm.
They disburse fund to other sectors of the company, and also ensure that taxes are paid.
It is also their responsibility to perform audits occasionally to ensure that all financial records are accurate.
Although there may be different areas of expertise in accounting, there are similar duties performed by an accountant.
Accountant Duties and Responsibilities
- Disburse fund to other sectors of a firm
- Prepare, evaluate and store financial records
- Ensure that taxes are paid
- Evaluate bank statements and ensure that the tally with general ledger entries.
- Review all company expenses.
- Keep an account of incoming and outgoing payments.
- Prepare financial reports and clearly state the company’s profit, expenses and cash flow.
- Carry out an audit to ensure that all funds are properly accounted for.
- Carefully analyse data using good software.
- Comply, prepare, review and reports financial records, business plans and budgets.
- Financial risk evaluation
- Prepare payrolls
What are the skills and personality that suits an accountant?
Considering the large figures accountants work with, you should already know that there are special skills every accountant must have.
Some of these skills are properly explained below.
1. Ability to work well with large figures
As an accountant, your ability to work with large figures without getting confused cannot be over emphasized. Except you do not intend to work for big firms.
2. High IT skills
If you must work with large figures and create accurate financial statements, you do not intend to do that manually
Therefore, it is important that you are well skilled in using necessary softwares.
3. Communication skill
A good accountant must be able to properly communicate necessary information concerning the company’s finance during presentation.
This presentation must be done in a way that every member of the company’s board can understand.
4. Integrity
When I think about accounting, the first thing that comes to my mind is money. And, we all know that when it has to do with money, not everybody can be trusted.
A good accountant must be trust worthy. And never make attempt to divert company fund for personal reasons
5. Business inclined
To stand out as an accountant, you should have quick perception and interest in business
6. Ability to work as a team
Most times the job of an accountant is numerous such that one cannot handle it alone.
Therefore, working together with other accountants as a team will be the way to get the job done.
7.self motivated
Sometimes the job may get stress full and hectic. Especially when you have to prepare account records.
As a result, you have to stay self motivated, even when everything tries to weigh you down.
Were can accountants work?
As long as a firm makes use of money for any form of transaction, that firm can employ an accountant.
Some of the major employers of accounts are;
- Private firms
- Public sectors
- Accounting firms
- Firms that offer professional services
- Industrial organisations
- Corporate and commercial organizations
- NGOs
What are the qualifications you need to become an accountant?
Although not the only route, having a bachelor’s degree puts you at an edge in a your accountancy career.
A bachelor’s degree In any of this fields is advantageous
- Business administration
- Accounting
- Business studies
- Economics
- Business management
You can obtain a degree in either of these courses in most colleges and universities.
After graduation, to improve your qualification, you may want to get chattered.
There are various accounting bodies with whom accountant can obtain accreditation world wide. Some of which include.
- Institute of chattered accountants
- Certified practising accountant
- Institute of public accountants
- There are other internationally recognized bodies
As important as a certificate is in an accountancy career, most firms prefer employing individuals with more experience.
Therefore any experience you can gather will certainly be an extra bonus for you.
How much do accountants earn?
On the average, an accountant makes an estimate of $57,000 per year.
Payment may be dependent on location qualification and your employer.
Conclusion – Accountant Job Description
Accounting is an interesting career choice, but requires attention, passion and zeal to succeed in.
Of all the skills an accountant should possess, the importance of being trust worth cannot be overrated.
Not just for the benefit of your employer, but also to protect yourself from ending up behind prison doors.
Another thing to do to avoid issues in your accounting career is to spend extra time cross checking every financial record and making sure they tally.
By so doing, you can avoid making mistakes and avoid false accusations when money cannot be properly accounted for.
As an accountant, just understand your job description and stick to it.
Here is a list of some other job descriptions you may want to check out
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